Italian Harvest Pasta Sauce

Who loves Italian food? Who loves pasta and all the fabulous sauces that are involved? Yes, yes, yes!!! This one is not your everyday marinara, even though that can be delicious too. There are just a few simple fresh ingredients and, prego …. your pasta sauce is ready to be devoured!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion, roughly diced
• 1 large eggplant, cubed into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces ( ∼2 cm)
• about 1/2 cup (120 ml) filtered water
• 4 lb Roma tomatoes, diced ( or ~ 56 oz diced tomatoes from the jar)
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup
• crushed red pepper as (and if) desired
• 5 Tbsp veggie broth concentrate or granulated instant veggie broth (store bought) to taste
• salt to taste
• ~ 5 oz pitted Kalamata olives, drained (from the jar)
• Italian herbs like oregano, thyme, basil, parsley, fresh and/or dried galore ( I use at least 1 tsp of each herb dried and add about 1 cup fresh herbs)

Preparation:

Wash and prepare your veggies. Heat a large pot and add the olive oil. Sauté onion until soft, about 10 minutes, then add the eggplant. Sauté for another 10 minutes while stirring frequently until the eggplant begins to soften. You might have to add 1/2 cup water to keep it from burning. Add tomatoes, garlic, red pepper (if you like it hot), and veggie broth concentrate. If you use dried herbs, this is a good time to add them so they can develop their flavor. Stir well and let simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes are falling apart and eggplant is soft. Stir occasionally. While the sauce is simmering, prepare your pasta. Season sauce to taste with salt, maple syrup, and maybe even more dried herbs. At the very end, add olives and fresh herbs, stir, garnish and serve.

Notes:

• I served this sauce with edamame pasta, which is our absolute favorite and gluten free on top of that. You can use any pasta you like.
• If you don’t feel like pasta, try it with rice! Delicious!
• I you really like it hot, top it with some raw, sliced jalapeños. It adds a crunch factor as well. I’d serve them on the side though!
• If you want, you can add vegan Parmesan cheese. Definitely not necessary, because the sauce is so flavorful by itself.